Toy disk projector



y 1952 R. w. CLAUSS TOY DISK PROJECTOR Filed Jan. 12, 1949 JNVENTOR.(Zaawr 'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII A 5/5 Arrow [r 0 fi 3 W m w v F m PatentedMay 27, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY DISK PROJECTOR Robert W. Clauss, Riverdale, N. Y.

Application January 12, 1949, Serial No. 70,409

This invention relates to pistols for distributing advertisingprojectiles of the type described in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,019,894granted on November 5, 1935, to Max 0. Clauss.

This invention is an improvement thereover, and presents a compactstructure easy to make and install into a pistol casing.

It is characteristic of these inventions to have an impelling elementfor discharging a projectile, as a disk on which advertising,educational or entertainment matter is preferably applied, move in acurvilinear or spiral path with respect to a horizontal plane or surfaceon which the projectile is moved forward in rotating motion, for givingthe projectile a force to continue its motion by its own momentum in astraight line for a considerable distance.

Thelpresent improvement consists in providing a straight main portion inthe impeller rod, adapted to superposed bearings, said impeller rodhaving a bent portion at right angles to the main portion and a secondbent portion atright angles to the first bent portion extendingupwardly, with a helical spring surrounding the main portion,-fixed atone end, and having its other end moved by the main portion to tensionthe spring,

4 Claims. (Cl. 12426) and a trigger mechanism acting directly on thesaid last named end of the spring to hold it in tensioned position, orto release said end in order to have the spring exert its stored energyupon the main portion, and operate the upwardly extending portion in itscurvilinear or spiral path, to impel a projectile by first engaging itand then releasing itself from the projectile.

The invention includes also'an enlarged convolution of the spring toincrease its life. The invention includes also the relationship of thespring pressure point on the trigger lever and the pivot of the triggerin one line, substantially perpendicular to the axis of the main portionof the rod.

The invention will be more fully described hereinafter, embodimentsthereof shown in the drawings, and the invention will be finally pointedout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved pistol, underlying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal vertical view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, thatis, with the top removed;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig, 5 is a similar section but only fragmentary of p the triggermechanism of Fig. 3, but now in momentary unlocked position;

2 Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the spring acting on the rod. 7

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe various views.

Referring to the drawings, a rod III has a stem II to enable the rod IDto be rotated in its bearings I2 and I3forming part of the'pistol casingI4. The rod ID with its bearings is placed in an inclined position, asshown in Fig. 3..

Upon the shoulders I1 and Ila, in which the bearing I3 is arranged, issupported a coiled spring I5, which has one end It bent to engage recessIlia of the shoulder I'Ia of the casing I4 so as to anchor one end ofthe spring I5. The other end I8 of the'spring I5 is bent at right anglesto its axis, and passed through an opening I9 of the rod I0 (Fig. 6).When the stem II is rotated, and thereby the rod I0 is rotated, theconvolutions are compressed, and the end I8 is engaged by the notch 20of a lever 2 I, forming part of a trigger mechanism, which then holdsthe end I8 against movement. The end I8 may ride freely on the camportion 2Ia of the lever 2 I, until the end I8 engages the notch 29 andis held thereby. The rod I0 then is in the positio shown in full linesin Figs. 3 and4.

To operate the rod I0 by thestored energy'on the release of the springI5, the finger lever 23 of the trigger mechanism, is pressed by a fingerof the operator of the pistol, in'the'usual manner; as known, wherebysaid lever 23' raises th lever 2|, the free end'of which'abuts againstthe interior surface 24 of the' casing I4, to rest there against. Whenthe'lever 2I is raisedand its notch 20 becomes disengaged from the endI8 of the spring I5, the rod' I0 is free to rotate under the forcesexerted by the compressed energy of the spring I5, until the rod I0takes the dotted line position of Fig. 3' andith'e full line positionofFig.5. The rod IOFhas a part 30 bent at'rightangles' to its mainportion Illa, and in continuation of the part 30 is another part 3 I, atright angles to the part 30, and extendin upwardly, parallel with theaxisv of the main'portion Ifla'of therod ID. The end 32 of the part'3'lengages a holein a paper disk, and its curvilinear and'spiral movementmoves the disk'and propels it from the gun, untilthe end '32 descendswhile in its circular movement, to disengage-itself from the disk, thedisk then continuing to move under the force of the propulsiondescribed, in substantially; the manner shown in U. $5. Letters 'PatentNo. 2,019,894. a

In making-of the spring I5 it is important to free movement of the lever2 i.

spring 45 exerts a downward pressure on the lever 1 give the spring wirea special curvature as shown at in Fig. 6. It has been found that, ifthe spring wire is abruptly bent in the usual convolution form, the wireis subjected to too severe a strain and soon disintegrates, but byproviding the special turn as at 35, the spring is given a long life. Byhaving the spring 15 bent around the part [7a of the casing and enclosedin the groove or recess lea when the; matching members abut and arejoined together, each match- A ing member having such a part or lug I7,Ila, the spring is held in position against movement. As the springengages the rod, the rod is held against any substantial axial movement,and thus the spring holds the rod in fixed position, upwardly ordownwardly. Whatever expansion or compression of the convolutions of thespring may take place upon the axial movement of the rod, the rod isreturned by the action of the inherent resiliency of the spring.

The gun casing 14 consists of two matching members |3a and l3b,substantially alike, save for the interlocking lugs Ho, and thesematching members [3a and 1312 are joined by screws 37 and 3B. A handportion 39 merges into a cylindrical portion 40, and this in turn hasforwardly extending parallel portions ll. Abutments 42 and 43, providedwith a first pin 44, are spaced from each other to accommodate the elbowlever trigger 23.

A 'coil spring 45 has one end secured by the screw :7

or pin 38 to the matching members and its other end 41 looped around thelever 2|, engaging a notch 23a of the lever 2|. A slot 48 permits theNormally, the

spring 15 to exert the propelling efiect on the disk.

Upon the upper part of the circular portions 40 of the matching members,a plate 50 is se cured, to which a spaced plate 51 is secured by screws52, the depth of the space 53 being slightly larger than the thicknessof the paper disk to be propelled. The plate 50 has downward extendingprojections 56, entering recesses or cutouts 51 in the matching members.These projections extend laterally to engage recesses 57 in the matchingmembers. A spacer 54 is made a part of the plate 50 as shown in Fig. 4,and preferably extends along the length of the pistol barrel to about55. The perimeter of the plate 59 is spaced from the cylindrical part 49of the easing (Fig. 4) to enable the free movement of the part 3i of therod III to take place, while the free end 32 moves from its uppermostportion as shown in full lines in Fig. 4 to its lowermost position asshown in dotted line position in Fig. 4, that is, during its propellingaction on the disk from its engagement thereof to beyond itsdisengagement thereof.

It will be noted that the matching members, when joined, provide thebearings for the main part'of the rod, and that the support for theupper bearing is engaged by the propelling spring, the other end ofwhich spring engages the rod, with the proximate coil enlarged toprovide resiliency securing long life, the main part of the rodextending out of the casing or matching members, to enable the rod to berotated to tension the spring, with the single bar trigger holding thespring in tensioned position, until the end 'of the spring isreleasedfrom the trigger,

enabling the rod to rotate and compel its impelling end to do its workon the projectile. The pressure application point of the spring I5 andthe pivot of the trigger lever is on a line substantially perpendicularto the axis of the main part I00: of the rod [0.

The matching members may be readily cast 01 suitable aluminum, whitemetal, or the like, or made of plastic material, the spring andimpelling rod being both of the utmost simplicity, and the top piece toprovide the runway for the disk, may be readily cast of similar materialand applied to hold the matching members to complete the pistol.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a toy pistol, having a casing with superposed bearing surfaces, arod supported by said bearing surfaces and having one end extendingoutside of the casing, and extending at the upper end of the bearingsurface at right angles to its axis, and extending upwardly at rightangles to said right-angled part, said last named part being parallelwith the axis of said rod, and having its free end serving as animpeller, said bearing surfaces being disposed on a line inclined to thevertical, for enabling the impeller end to partake of a curvilinearhelical path in respect to the horizontal on the rotation of theimpeller end around the axis of the rod in the bearing surfaces, thecombination of a trigger lever pivoted to the casing, a spring to holdthe trigger in cocked position, and a torsion spring for the rod havingone end anchored to the casing and the other end engaging the rod, andengaging the trigger lever when the torsion spring is energized by therotation of the rod, said trigger lever when moved to uncocked positionaway from the end of the torsion spring, releasing said spring andenabling its energy to rotate the rod and move its impeller end in saidcurvilinear path, for projecting a pro- J'ectile by said impeller end. i

2. The structure of claim 1, in which the rod operating torsion springhas a plurality of convolutions, with the convolution contiguous to theend of the spring engaging said rod and engaging the trigger lever,having a rounded portion forming a space around the rod.

3. The structure of claim 1, in which the pressure point of the rodtorsion spring on the trigger lever and the pivot of the trigger are ona line substantially perpendicular to the axis of the main portionof'the rod.

4. The structure of claim 1, in which the trigger lever rests against awall of the casing to prevent the trigger lever from descending.

ROBERT W. CLAUSS.

REFERENSES siren The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

